The extraordinary list of things to do is what Hall says sets the Central American country apart from other hot weather destinations for Canadians looking for a second home.

Hall is the Calgary-based director of sales and operations for Sanctuary Belize, which has a total of 2,000 home sites in a project on 5,666 hectares in the south end of Belize - 4,047 hectares of which is environmental reserve and will never be developed.

"(It) is the only development in the world that boasts five different ecosystems: the river, the savannah, the jungle, the (Caribbean) sea, and the second-largest barrier reef in the world," says Hall.

Because there are only 2,000 home sites - 200 of which will be for condos, villas and townhomes - the homes will be nestled among nature and "you will never be in a community that is overcrowded or overdeveloped," he says.

Prices start from $99,000 to more than $1 million US for sites that range from 0.10 to 4.05 hectares. Owners can access approved builders via Sanctuary Belize.

More than 650 of the lots have already been sold - more than 20 per cent of those to Canadians. About 20 homes have already been completed and another 40 are expected to be finished by the end of this year.

Construction on the condominiums and the townhomes is to commence in the next 60 days. Two hundred homes are to be completed during the next two years.

The developer, Eco Futures Development, has not waited for the project to be finished to start on the amenities.

The biggest is the 16-hectare, 250-slip marina - which took two years to construct and opened last fall - and the beach club and restaurant that opened on July 1.

The marina village is to have a spa and fitness centre, a "fivestar, eco-experience hotel," world-class diving facilities, a fishing club and an equestrian centre.

One of the reasons Anne and Keith Lindsay of Calgary purchased a home site in Sanctuary Belize was the fact the project didn't just promise amenities - it has already delivered on a significant number of them.

The couple bought a property in Costa Rica years ago that still doesn't have any promised facilities built.

The Lindsays are planning on selling that property and building a home in Belize.

Anne, an agent for Sotheby's in Calgary, describes her and her retired husband as "water babies," so the lure of the sea made Belize an obvious choice.

The Belize purchase, for now, will be a vacation getaway for the Calgary couple, with eventual plans for the home to be a retirement destination.

Hall says Calgarians, like other Canadians, not only want to escape this country's winters, but want to do it in a way that makes them feel comfortable.

Belize, he says, combines an English-speaking populace with a Caribbean way of life in a country that is a former British colony.

Hall says to get to Belize, he flies from Calgary to Houston, Texas, and from Houston direct into Belize.

"The inflight time is 6.5 hours," he says.

What does Belize hold for Calgarians who may have traditionally looked at Arizona as their hot-weather destination?

"Arizona has cool desert nights in the winter and extremely hot days in the summer, whereas Belize is typically 28 to 30 C year round, with warm tropical breezes," says Hall.

The Belize weather, he says, resembles Hawaii, and "we are where Hawaii was over 25 years ago in terms of development and economic growth - and we all know the extreme, high cost of real estate in Hawaii."

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